Process and apparatus for producing a tabletting aid and also a tabletting aid and tabletting mixture

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns a process for the production of a tableting excipient with the following process steps: 
     At least two of the following components are made available: 
     A filler/binding agent; 
     A lubricant; 
     A flow regulating agent; 
     A disintegrant; 
     The available components are mixed together.

The invention concerns a process, a production means and the substances in accordance with the above title.

Direct compression is the most commonly used method for the production of tablets. The process consists of various mixing steps. First, the active substance and all excipients (mainly filler, binding agent and disintegrating agent) except the lubricants are mixed together. This can be accomplished in a single mixing step, whereby the filler, binding agent and disintegrating agent are combined with the active substance. Alternatively, numerous sequential mixing steps may be carried out. Subsequently, the lubricant is added to the mixture and in turn mixed with said. The result is a tableting mixture. This is compressed in a tableting press.

In pharmaceutical technology, combined excipients are available (direct tableting excipients). These are combined tableting excipients which consist of numerous individual substances (frequently filler, binding agent and disintegrating agents) which are produced by means of co-processing (for example spray drying, compaction or granulation). These multi-functional substances demonstrate certain advantages over the physical mixture of the individual components. See EP 0 819 429.

All known combinations of filler, binding agent and disintegrating agents contain no lubricant. There are various reasons for this, particularly the danger of over mixing, lower tablet hardness and coatings of the tablets.

The invention has the fundamental object of providing a process as well as a device for production of a tableting excipient and also a tableting excipient as well as a tableting mixture, primarily in order to obtain the following advantages:

Lower ejection forces after compressing the tablet mixture,

Good lubricant properties and good flow properties of the tablet mixture,

Sufficient hardness of the tablet,

Lower abrasion of the tablet,

Lower sensitivity to moisture.

This object shall be achieved through the characteristics of the independent claims.

The tableting excipient of the invention contains numerous individual substances; in general, a filler, a binding agent, a disintegrating agent and a lubricant. All of the specified substances thereby are combined in a single mixture; in this manner said mixture may be described as multi-functional. This has the major advantage that the user, or tablet producer, only needs to mix a finished mixture with the active substance of the tablet. In this manner, the dosing of individual tableting excipients is eliminated, thereby reducing the processing costs and the problem of precision of the dosages of the individual tableting excipients does not arise.

The invention results in the following additional advantages:

Significantly lower ejection forces due to the even distribution of the lubricant in the tablet and thereby a higher rate of tableting or quicker production.

Lower concentrations of lubricant in the tablet are sufficient.

A better tablet hardness.

better abrasion level, particularly with lower dosages of active substances.

Better flow properties of the tableting compound.

A lower sensitivity to moisture.

No influence on the disintegration and release of the active substance.

No over-mixing or coating.

It requires only a mixing step with the active substance(s). This saves in production time and costs.

Lower dust level.

The production process of the mixture from the above specified components ideally is carried out by means of wet granulation in accordance with all of the known methods such as mixer granulation, perforated disk granulation, fluid bed granulation, extrusion or Shugi granulation.

For fluid bed granulation, for example, the following possibilities exist.

Variation A: Silicified microcrystalline cellulose and croscarmellose or sodium starch glycolate are located in the fluid bed and sprayed with a hot, aqueous solution of sodium stearyl fumarate at 30-97° C. The granulate is then dried in the fluid bed.

Variation B: Microcrystalline cellulose and croscarmellose or sodium starch glycolate are located in the fluid bed and sprayed with a hot, aqueous solution/suspension of sodium stearyl fumarate and silicon dioxide at 30-97° C. The granulate is then dried in the fluid bed.

Variation C: Microcrystalline cellulose, croscarmellose or sodium starch glycolate and silicon dioxide are located in the fluid bed and sprayed with a hot, aqueous solution of sodium stearyl fumarate at 30-97° C. The granulate is then dried in the fluid bed.

Variation D: Silicified microcrystalline cellulose is located in the fluid bed and sprayed with a hot, aqueous solution/suspension of sodium stearyl fumarate and croscarmellose or sodium starch glycolate. The granulate is then dried in the fluid bed.

Variation E: Microcrystalline cellulose is located in the fluid bed and sprayed with a hot, aqueous solution/suspension of sodium stearyl fumarate, croscarmellose or sodium starch glycolate and silicon dioxide at 30-97° C. The granulate is then dried in the fluid bed.

The particle size of the fluid bed granulate depends on the type of cellulose.

Another method for producing the new tableting excipient which can be direct compressed is the spray drying. All components are mixed in hot water and sprayed together. The particle size of the product depends on the type of cellulose and the spraying rate.

The tableting excipient of the invention containing some or all of the specified components, filler, binding agent, flow regulating agent, disintegrant and lubricant, is ideally produced through granulation in the fluid bed. Refer to the possible following variations A and B:

Variation A:

One places the Silicified microcrystalline cellulose (PROSOLV SMCC® 90 JRS Pharma) and sodium starch glycolate (EXPLOTAB®, JRS Pharma) in the fluid bed. The substances are heated to 30-97° C. and sprayed with a hot, aqueous solution of 0.3-6% sodium stearyl fumarate (PRUV® JRS Pharma). The granulate is then dried in the fluid bed.

Variation B:

One places the microcrystalline cellulose (VIVAPUR® 102, JRS Pharma) and the sodium starch glycolate (EXPLOTAB®, JRS Pharma) in the fluid bed. The substances are heated to 30-97° C. and sprayed with a hot, aqueous suspension of 1-20% silicon dioxide (CabOsil M5®, Carbot or Aerosil®, Degussa) and 0.3-6% sodium stearyl fumarate (PRUV® JRS Pharma). The granulate is then dried in the fluid bed.

The two variations result in granulates of the same quality. Table 1 shows four examples of granulates produced with the above processes.

TABLE 1 Examples of granulates Granulate 1 Granulate 2 Granulate 3 Granulate 4 # % % % % VIVAPUR ® 96.5 96.0 95.0 94.0 102 CabOsil M5 ® 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 Explotab ® 1.0 1.5 2.0 3.0 PRUV ® 0.5 0.5 1.0 1.0 Flow angle: 25-28°, flowability: 0.6-0.9 g/s with FloDex, 4 mm ring diameter, apparent density: 340-400 g/l, moisture: 4-6%.

EXAMPLES

The tableting excipient of the invention is placed in a placebo with the physical mixture of the individual components, a 40% paracetamol and compared with an enalapril formula. The results are shown in tables 2, 3 and 4.

Placebo tablets 100% DC tableting excipients* vs. Physical mixture ** (Granulate 1) Microcrystalline cellulose 96.5% Silicon dioxide   2% Explotab ®   1% PRUV ®  0.5% *The tableting excipient of the invention is compressed alone with various pressures. ** All components except PRUV are mixed for 15 minutes. The lubricant is then added and mixed for an additional 3 minutes and then compressed with various pressures.

TABLE 2 Direct comparison between a tableting excipient (granulate 1) and a physical mixture of the individual components; Placebo formula Tensile Ejection Pressure strength Force Abrasion Disintegration Substance [kN] [MPa] [N] [%] [s] Granulate 1 10 5.0 120 0.31 10 Physical 10 3.9 220 0.76 10 Mixture

The DC tableting excipient of the invention has significantly better compressibility and tablet hardness, lower ejection force and less abrasion than the physical mixture (table 2, FIGS. 1 and 2).

Paracetamol tablets 60% DC tableting excipients* vs. Physical mixture ** (Granulate 1) Microcrystalline cellulose 57.9% 40% Paracetamol Silicon dioxide  1.2% Explotab ®  0.6% Paracetamol 40.0% PRUV ®  0.3% *The DC tableting excipient is mixed with the paracetamol for 15 minutes and then compressed at various pressures. ** All components except PRUV are mixed for 15 minutes. The lubricant is then added and mixed for an additional 3 minutes and then compressed at various pressures.

TABLE 3 Comparison between the tablet mixture which can be direct compressed (granulate 1) and the physical mixture of the various components; 40% paracetamol (PCM) formula Tensile Ejection Disin- Pressure strength Force Abrasion tegration Substance [kN] [Mpa] [N] [%] [s] Granulate 1 15 2.2 240 0.40 9 Physical 15 1.1 380 0.51 9 Mixture

The PCM tablets with the new DC tableting excipient have significantly lower ejection forces and better abrasion for the same disintegration periods. Furthermore, the new substance requires 50% less pressure for the same tablet hardness in comparison with the physical mixture, which indicates a better compressibility (table 3, FIGS. 3 and 4).

Enalapril tablets 92.30% DC tableting excipients* vs. Physical mixture ** (Granulate 1) Microcrystalline cellulose 89.07% 7.70% Enalapril Silicon dioxide  1.85% Explotab ®  0.92% Enalapril  7.70% PRUV ®  0.46% *The DC tableting excipient is mixed with the enalapril for 15 minutes and then compressed at various pressures. ** All components except PRUV are mixed for 15 minutes. The lubricant is then added and mixed for an additional 3 minutes and then compressed at various pressures.

TABLE 4 Direct comparison of tableting excipient which can be direct compressed (granulate 1) with the physical mixture of the individual components; Enalapril Formula Tensile Ejection Pressure strength Force Abrasion Disintegration Substance [kN] [Mpa] [N] [%] [s] Granulate 1 15 4.0 180 0.04 19 Physical 15 1.6 260 0.04 26 Mixture

The granulate formula has significantly better compressibility than the physical mixture (table 4, FIGS. 5 and 6). With the same pressure, the new tableting excipient has more than double tablet hardness (FIG. 5) and exhibits a 30% lower ejection force.

A device for executing the process of the invention is shown in the drawing. The device consists of the following components: A container 1 serves to receive SSG (sodium starch glycolate) and SMCC. A fluid bed is formed from these two components. Refer to the air intake 1.1 and the air outlet 1.2.

A lubricant in liquid form, such as SSF (sodium stearyl formulate), is located in a second container 2. This is maintained in constant movement by means of an agitator 3 and fed to a nozzle 5 through a tube 4 by a pump (not shown). It is sprayed onto the fluid bed through the nozzle 5. The final product is the tableting excipient of the invention. This may be used directly by a tablet producer in that it is to be mixed with the active substance of the tablet. This thereby requires only a single dosing procedure. The tableting excipient of the invention can also be stored and made available for future processing.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

1 Container for producing the fluid bed

1.1 Air intake

1.2 Air outlet

2 Container for receiving a lubricant

3 Agitator

4 Tube

5 Spray nozzle 

1. A process for the production of a tableting excipient with the following process steps: At least two of the following components are made available: A filler/binding agent; A flow regulating agent; A disintegrant; Sodium stearyl fumarate is added to the components.
 2. A process according to claim 1, characterized in that a fluid bed is formed by the components prior to the addition of sodium stearyl fumarate.
 3. A process according to claim 1, characterized in that for the filler and or binding agent one or more of the following components are used: Cellulose (microcrystalline cellulose, powdered cellulose) and cellulose derivative (methyl- and ethyl cellulose, hypromellose, hydroxypropyl cellulose), saccharide (lactose, glucose, sucrose, fructose, and combinations thereof), polyols (mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, isomalt and combinations thereof) 59-98%.
 4. A process according to claim 1, characterized in for the flow regulating agent one or more of the following components are used: Silicon dioxide, calcium-, magnesium-, and aluminum- silicates 1-20%.
 5. A process according to claim 1, characterized in that for the disintegrants one or more of the following components are used: Croscarmellose sodium, starch, sodium starch glycolate, cross-linked polyvinylpyrrolidone, soy-polysaccharide, cyclodextrin, xylan, pectin, gelatin, polymethacrylic acid, ion exchange resins 0.5-15%.
 6. A device for production of a tableting excipient with a container for receiving a filler and/or binder and/or flow regulating agent and/or a disintegrants; equipped for forming a fluid bed of one or more of the specified substances in the container; with a feed device for supplying a lubricant.
 7. A device according to claim 6, characterized in that the lubricant feed device contains a spray nozzle for spraying the lubricant on or into the fluid bed.
 8. A device according to claim 6, characterized in that the container contains an intake for feeding and an output for discharging air or other gaseous substances.
 9. Tableting excipient, consisting of filler/binding agent, a flow regulating agent, a disintegrant and a stearyl fumarate as lubricant.
 10. Tableting excipient according to claim 9, characterized by the following properties: The filler/the binding agent contains one or more of the following components: Cellulose (microcrystalline cellulose, powdered cellulose) and cellulose derivative (methyl- and ethyl cellulose, hypromellose, hydroxypropyl cellulose), saccharide (lactose, glucose, sucrose, fructose, and combinations thereof), polyols (mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, isomalt and combinations thereof) 59-98%.
 11. A tableting excipient according to claim 10, characterized in that the flow regulating agent contains one or more of the following components: Silicon dioxide, calcium-, magnesium-, and aluminum- silicates 1-20%.
 12. A tableting excipient according to claim 10, characterized in that the disintegrant consists of one or more of the following components: Croscarmellose sodium, starch, sodium starch glycolate, cross-linked polyvinylpyrrolidone, soy-polysaccharide, cyclodextrin, xylan, pectin, gelatin, polymethacrylic acid, ion exchange resins 0.5-15%.
 13. A tableting mixture, produced by means of a process in accordance with claim
 1. 14. A process according to claim 2, characterized in that for the filler and or binding agent one or more of the following components are used: Cellulose (microcrystalline cellulose, powdered cellulose) and cellulose derivative (methyl- and ethyl cellulose, hypromellose, hydroxypropyl cellulose), saccharide (lactose, glucose, sucrose, fructose, and combinations thereof), polyols (mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, isomalt and combinations thereof) 59-98%.
 15. A process according to claim 2, characterized in for the flow regulating agent one or more of the following components are used: Silicon dioxide, calcium-, magnesium-, and aluminum- silicates 1-20%.
 16. A process according to claim 3, characterized in for the flow regulating agent one or more of the following components are used: Silicon dioxide, calcium-, magnesium-, and aluminum- silicates 1-20%.
 17. A process according to claim 2, characterized in that for the disintegrants one or more of the following components are used: Croscarmellose sodium, starch, sodium starch glycolate, cross-linked polyvinylpyrrolidone, soy-polysaccharide, cyclodextrin, xylan, pectin, gelatin, polymethacrylic acid, ion exchange resins 0.5-15%.
 18. A process according to claim 3, characterized in that for the disintegrants one or more of the following components are used: Croscarmellose sodium, starch, sodium starch glycolate, cross-linked polyvinylpyrrolidone, soy-polysaccharide, cyclodextrin, xylan, pectin, gelatin, polymethacrylic acid, ion exchange resins 0.5-15%.
 19. A device according to claim 7, characterized in that the container contains an intake for feeding and an output-for discharging air or other gaseous substances.
 20. A tableting mixture, with a device in accordance with claim
 6. 